Improved device for moving vessels to aud from wharves or docks to water



NV PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D C.

@uiten tetes getest 'ifi-2,

JOHN DU BOIS, OF WILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent No. 81,075, dated'August 18, 1868.

IMPROVED DEVICE FOR MOVING VESSELS TO AND PROM- WHARVES 0R DOGKS T0WATER.

@be tlgrhult referat in im time teiiers heirat mit making pitt nf thestmt.

TO ALL WHOM I'l MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, JOHN DU BoIs,.of Williamsport, in the county ofLycoming, in the State of Pennsyl- Vania, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in the Mode for Building a Ship-Yard,fwith thenecessary appendages for launching vessels and other craft .whenfinished, and also for taking vessels and othercraft out of the water,and placing them in and on said yard for repairs or other purposes; andthe following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the drawings accompanying this speciiication, andforming a part of the same, in which- Figure 1, Plate I, represents atop view of the wharves, docks, and bridge on which vessels are to bebuilt and repaired.

Figure 2 represents a top view of the lighters floating in the dock,with the framework for sustaining the v vessel firmly secured thereon,preparatory for sinking, to receive the vessel on said frame; also thetwo wharves forming the dock, for the purpose of forcing the lighters,with the framework thereon, a sufficient depth below the surface of thewater to allow the vessel to oat'over and into the framework,preparatory for raising it out of the water and transferring it on tothewharf. 4

Figure 3 shows an end view of iig. 2.

- Figure 4Plate I I, is an enlarged top view of the lighters, with theframework secured thereon, partially lying in the docks and over thewharf. Y

Figure 5, Plate III, shows a side view of the lighters and framework,with a vessel thereon elevated above the water. I

Figure 6, Plate IV,`is an end view of the lighters and framework, with avessel thereon elevated above the wharf, ready to be loweredon the'same.i

Figure 7 is au end view of the frame, setting on the wharf.

Figure 8, Plate V, represents a perspective view of a vessel in theframe on the wharf; also-another frame i ou, and-the lighters beingmoved away from the wharf.

The object of my invention is to construct a ship-yard, for building andrepairing vessels and other craft, which will afford a greater capacity,at a less cost and risk, than any of the present modes in use.

In building and launching vessels, the common mode, in' most cases, isto frame and finish them uponan inclined plane of suiicient grade toslide them into the water, when the ways are thoroughly lubricated,thereby subjecting them to great risk and inconvenience; and for takingvessels out of the water for repairs, lite., two methods have beenl inpractice-one, by the use of the inclined plane, or marine railway, andthe other by the dry-dock. The use o f either affords but littlecapacity for the moneyinvested.` As the vesselupon the" dry-dock v ioccupies it until it is entirely repaired and set hack into the water,-and the railway, ifa of sufcient length to receive two vessels on at atime, the one put on last must be the rst to come olf, while, by myinvention, one set of lighters may be used to accommodate as manyvessels as there are wharves and'frames to set themen, while no one isin the way of another, while any one may be approached, taken off, andset in the'water at pleasure, or anyone takenout of the water and setupon the docks at will, with comparatively small-cost and with no risk.

To enable others to construct my improved y ship-yards, and thenecessary appendages for launching vessels, and vtaking them and othercraft out of the water for repairs, Snc., I will describe it more fully,referring to the drawings, and to the letters of reference markedthereon.

A A A A show a series of piers built out in the harbor, parallel witheach other, and the wharf, B, on the shore ,b b, leaving channels ordocks D D D betweenthem, of suieient width to allow my improvedlighters, E E, with the frames a a and e e, the en ds being secured tothem, to pass in the doek two lighters abreast, so that anyl or all ofthe piers or wharves can be occupied by the frames a a, e e ou vesselsat one and the same time, as seen in fig. 8, on Plate V.

The piersAA A may be built in any of the ordinary modes of construction,and of any desired length; also,

any number'of them may be extended out into the harbor, and they may beconnected together by a bridge, C, extending from the shore-wharf, B. i

The series of frames upon which a vessel or other craft is built, or onwhich a vessel is supported when raised out of the water for repairs, isconstructed in the following manner:

Heavy square tiinbers, a a a, of suilieient length to reach across thcwharf A, extend out both ides as far as thewidth of the floats orlighters E E. On the top of the long, heavy, square timbers a a a, areplaced other timbers, e e e, of the same size, which extend out over thelighters E E about one-third of the width of them. Upon the top timberse e are erected heavy posts, g g, they being a sufficient distance apartto admit the hull of a ship, I-I, to pass'in between them, and there besupported by blocks, Zz Zt, and keys or propsA c 'c c, against the postsg g, which are irmly secured and supported on the outside by heavybraces-OZ del. The frames beingplaced on the iioats E E, they are irmlysecured to them by heavy metal hinged' straps',ffff, which are fastenedto the floats E E at such places that when the timbers a a are placed intheir proper position on the floats, the straps ff are brought upagainst each side of the timbers, and firmly fastened by driving in thekeys z'z'z'z'and putting in the bolts jjj, as shown more distinctly iuiig. 5, Plate III.

My improved mode of constructing lighters for the purposes abovespecified-the internal arrangementis shown in the broken-away sidesectional view of iig. 5, Plate III.

The oats or lighters E E, in their external form,'are a long,square-cornered box, of the required width to correspond with thetimbersa a, which extend out from the width ofthe wharf A on both sides.The depth may be such as to give them the suflicient capacity ofbuoyancy required to raise the ship .and the frame of timbers, to holdit in an upright positionabove the top of the pier, and Heat them over,so that they may be.

lowered down and rest firmly on the pier'.

The top, bottom, and sides of 4the lighters are'supported by a strongframework o f timbers, Z Z Z Z, with three or more compartments, byputting in bulk-heads 7c c at about one-fourth of thefdistauce from eachend, they being provided with cone-valves m m, connected to rods n n, so as .to be operated `for opening by levers o o, extending up at eachend of the ioat.

The object of the water-tight compartments at both ends of the lightersis to balance the weight of the ship or other craft on them, by lettingin a sui'l'icient quantity of water at` either end or compartment toeifeet the purpose, the lighters being also provided with pumps, P P,for discharging them, and likewise with air-tubes, q q, for the escapeof air while they are being filled with 'water in sinking, and tocounteract the buoyancy of the wood and timber.

- have provided the floats E E with a series of staples, r r rr, inwhich vertical timbers, L L L, may be placed, which extend up a sufcientheight, and are connected with a windlass, or other suitablepower-machinery attached to the wharvcs A A, on each side, as to enablethem to be forced down with all of the frame-timbers, so as to let thevessel iloat over them, when it is secured for raising out of the water.

The devices for sinking the lighters E E, above referred to, ares'hownmore particularly in the figs. 2 and 3, on Plate I, where thelighters or oats E E, with the frames epe e secured to them, are lyingin between two piers or wharves, A A', the timbers being ,above thewater-surface X X, about on a. level with the top of the piers,the'vertical timbers L L L being placed in the staples r r r, andextending up above the piers, with ropes or chains fastened to theirtops, which are attached to windlasses s As, on the edge of the piers AA', or other power-machinery, suiiicient to force them deep enough belowthe surface to o'at a vessel on to them when they are let loose, andpermitted to rise with the vessel, the water pumped out, until theframes a a a, with the vessel on them, will iloat over one of the piersA, when the lighters are unloros'ed and removedfrom under, leaving thevessel on the stocks high and. dry, as seen in iig. 8, when the extendedportions of the frames may be planked over, making the floor of theshipfyard,

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The floats E E, constructed and arranged as herein described, incombination with the `transversible, detachable, and adjustableframework a e dg, in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name in the presence ofJOHN DU BOIS.

Witnesses.:

J. B. WOODRUFF,

Gao. C. GREEN.V

